Smaller process nodes allow chips to perform operations faster and use less energy. So your computer or your phone can have better battery life, operate with a lower electricity bill, and run more complex software without feeling slow.
Because the distance between components is smaller, the electrical signal can reach them more quickly, allowing the clock to operate at a higher frequency.
Because there is less material for the electricity to pass through, there is less electrical resistance, so the chip uses less energy to perform the same computations as a larger process node.
The problem with making the wires smaller and closer together, is that electrons will “tunnel” through the insulating layer between them, causing the electrical signals to behave unpredictably. It is also very difficult to etch the patterns into the chips, because the size of the wires are approaching the limits of our ability to focus light accurately enough.
smenjas t1_iv6jv9w wrote
Reply to comment by now-here-be in TSMC approaching 1 nm with 2D materials breakthrough by maxtility
Smaller process nodes allow chips to perform operations faster and use less energy. So your computer or your phone can have better battery life, operate with a lower electricity bill, and run more complex software without feeling slow.
Because the distance between components is smaller, the electrical signal can reach them more quickly, allowing the clock to operate at a higher frequency.
Because there is less material for the electricity to pass through, there is less electrical resistance, so the chip uses less energy to perform the same computations as a larger process node.
The problem with making the wires smaller and closer together, is that electrons will “tunnel” through the insulating layer between them, causing the electrical signals to behave unpredictably. It is also very difficult to etch the patterns into the chips, because the size of the wires are approaching the limits of our ability to focus light accurately enough.